Finman
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 27,887
- Reaction score
- 2,023
- Location
- Finland, Helsinki
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
If we compare Apis mellifera and Apis cerana to each other, we see what is important in winter surviving.
I did not find now the reseach from Japan city bees A. cerana. They prefer make the hive in open air and only 20% of free colonies are in cavity.
Cerana maintains 36C cluster temp the whole winter.
What in the heck I thought. Where is Japan? Japan is ate the same level as North Africa and south half of Mediterennin sea.
Apis mellifera got a habit to make a hive in tree holes. The cavity gives shelter from enemy and prptects the colony from wind and cold.
I started with unsinsulated hives 48 years ago and I know how much less the hive consumes in insulated hives.
I have seen too that after mild winter the food storage is big in hives.
After hard winter it is important to look that food is enough. The starving arrive mostly aftern cleansing fligh in March and April, because colony start to make brood and they rise cluster temp from 23C to 36C.
The spring consumtion of food is really big compared to autumn consumption.
The smaller the colony the more it must work to produce the heat ovet winter.
It is important too to restrict the winterin space to minimum that the heat do not escape to large empty space.
.
I did not find now the reseach from Japan city bees A. cerana. They prefer make the hive in open air and only 20% of free colonies are in cavity.
Cerana maintains 36C cluster temp the whole winter.
What in the heck I thought. Where is Japan? Japan is ate the same level as North Africa and south half of Mediterennin sea.
Apis mellifera got a habit to make a hive in tree holes. The cavity gives shelter from enemy and prptects the colony from wind and cold.
I started with unsinsulated hives 48 years ago and I know how much less the hive consumes in insulated hives.
I have seen too that after mild winter the food storage is big in hives.
After hard winter it is important to look that food is enough. The starving arrive mostly aftern cleansing fligh in March and April, because colony start to make brood and they rise cluster temp from 23C to 36C.
The spring consumtion of food is really big compared to autumn consumption.
The smaller the colony the more it must work to produce the heat ovet winter.
It is important too to restrict the winterin space to minimum that the heat do not escape to large empty space.
.